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Content marketing in government: August 2015

31 August, 2015

August was a super busy month for content marketers around the world. The UK Government Digital Service lost one of its top leaders while a content marketing agency was bought for a jaw-dropping $48 million. In this edition of the monthly wrap we cover all things content marketing in government and get excited for the upcoming Content Marketing World.

In the News

Mike Bracken leaves the GDS

Much to our surprise director of the UK Government Digital Service, Mike Bracken resigned earlier this month. For more than four years, he led the digital transformation of public services in the UK. Bracken’s decision to step down has left those involved in public sector transformation in what can only be described as a state of mourning. The reaction on Twitter was phenomenal, as anecdotes and praise for Bracken flooded in. His departure, followed by several of his key team members has raised many questions about the future of GDS and the delivery of digital government. The GDS will now be led by Stephen Foreshew-Cain, the chief operating officer of GDS. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and we won’t be surprised if our own Digital Transformation Office picks up some of the GDS’s departing staff.

King Content sold for $48 million

The team at King Content has 48 million reasons to smile. Australian media monitoring agency Isentia purchased King Content for $48 million this month. Isentia, which monitors the media in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, can now sell content marketing to its 3000-plus corporate and government client base.

King Content started in 2010 in Sydney and now has offices in Melbourne, Singapore, Hong Kong, London and New York. The acquisition is a true validation of the content marketing industry. contentgroup CEO, David Pembroke was over the moon with the news of the purchase.

Insights

How Millennials, Boomers, and Gen X-ers Respond to Content Marketing

Did you know Baby Boomers spend more time consuming content than any other generation? As content marketers it’s extremely important to understand your audience. Inc, recently released a detailed description of the habits of the generations which is well worth a read. If you’re interested in learning more about Millennials, don’t forget to read Lydia Stevens blog Marketing to Millennials: How can government join the party?

LinkedIn Lookup

This month popular professional network LinkedIn has launched their own app titled ‘LinkedIn Lookup’ which allows professionals to easily learn more about their co-workers. Lookup lets you search for people within your organisation, view their contact details, and connect through email sent from the app directly to their work email address or through a built in messenger system.

It will be interesting to see if this new form of communication takes off within large government agencies as a substitute for failing intranets.

Facebook welcome GIFs and brings back Facebook Notes

Back in May, Facebook started allowing users to post GIFs on the social media site. Now, since late August, Facebook is slowly allowing brands to use GIFs in posts too. The list of approved brands is limited at the moment, with brand pages such as Wendy’s and Kuat being part of a trial period. While this may evolve into another content marketing tool allowing organisations to speak to audiences in their language, caution should be exercised in ensuring the hyperactive images don’t simply annoy people.

We’ve said time and time again everyone is in the publishing business and Facebook is of the same mind. If you remember Facebook in the late 2000s you would remember Facebook Notes. Re-introduced with a slick design, Facebook Notes will now try to rival Medium, Tumblr and LinkedIn. Back when Facebook introduced their Twitter like status update, they limited the amount of characters you could use. If you wanted to express your deepest thoughts in long form you had no choice but to use Facebook Notes. Now, it may come as surprise to some that Facebook would want to become a premier blogging platform, but ultimately, they just want you to spend as much time on the site as possible.

Instagram joins the party

Vertical video has been at the forefront of many conversations since its importance in the mobile viewing experience was highlighted in the 2015 Mary Meeker report. The notoriously square-formatted Instagram has jumped on the vertical video bandwagon this month, launching a vertical video option as well as vertical imagery.

“The square format has been and always will be a part of who we are,” said Instagram, “That said, the visual story you’re trying to tell should always come first, and we want to make it simple and fun for you to share moments just the way you want to.”

This update opens the door to more cinematic style clips, and we predict to more paid advertising options as well.

Upcoming Events

Content Marketing World 2015

Content Marketing World 2015 will be held in Cleveland from September 8th till 11th. contentgroup founder and CEO David Pembroke will be attending and we can’t wait for all the juicy insights he’ll bring back.

Blogs in August

Our blogs in August covered a wide array of topics. We featured some tricks which will help you improve your writing, tips to measuring and evaluating content, how to engage with your audience, and our thoughts on Isentia purchasing King Content. Let us know what you think about our blogs on Twitter, @contentgroup.

Each week a staff member puts pen to paper to write about an aspect of content communication that speaks to them, and hopefully, informs you. This is a space where our passion for writing, learning and sharing information comes to shine.